I'm 6 weeks along with my first and my emotions are swinging.. it feels like everything is aggravating and the smallest comments or remarks are enough to upset me. Husband thinks I'm being ridiculous and doesn't seem to understand (which makes me feel worse) all I want to do is cry from sheer frustration and being tired and exhausted all the time doesn't help. Anyone else suffering from mood swings or anxiety?

3 Replies

that must be very frustrating for you that your partner, at this stage probably the only person who knows about your pregnancy except for your health professionals, doesn't have any understanding for your emotional state.

Feeling exhausted and out of control of your emotions is unfortunately a completely likely occurrence in pregnancy. Our bodies are doing an incredible job!!! They are preparing to house "an imposter", a life form that is only partially directly related to us. Our immune system has to go down for this to work or it would kill the fetus. We build up this system of feeding the new life which includes a big change in the balance of our hormones - WELCOME EMOTIONS! And we have to provide nutrients to the fetus and its nest, nutrients we either have to ingest more of as time goes by, or they get stripped from our bodies leaving us lacking them if we are not careful.

All these things going on affect how we feel - there is no way around it. Trying to reason ourselves out of it would be similar to trying to reason ourselves out of toothache - if there is a cavity, we'd better feel it so we deal with it!

Same with your emotions now: they are telling you what is going on with your body. If you feel exhausted, chances are that your body is under strain and wants you to rest. You might need a lot more sleep at the moment. Or maybe you do get enough sleep but you find there are way to many things you have to do in a day? Or too many responsibilities you carry? Something is too much for you at the moment and you need relief.

It is also possible that your exhaustion might be helped with a look at your nutritional intake these days. Ask your doctor to do a blood analysis if they haven't done that already to check for possible causes of exhaustion. One thing that springs to mind is iron deficiency. I was iron deficient many years ago and it made me exhausted, tired and sad. But iron is only one of the things you need a lot of in pregnancy - there are D and B vitamins, folic acid of course, etc. Don't be shy, ask your doctors about it. They may help you figure out something simple like "take this or that supplement" that you didn't know about before and makes you feel better!

I am in my 7th week now. I have to deal a lot with other people at my work, and in the last week I got very stresssed feeling like I couldn't cope.

Last friday there was suddenly a moment where I slowed down. I just couldn't do anything about it: my body forced me to slow down. As I started feeling calmer and weirdly slow, it felt like the world around me slowed down as well: people sounded less loud, and they had to wait for me to finish a sentence before replying.

I now allow myself to take time. It is just necessary and so I do it. And I also don't expect the same standard of effeciency from myself. I often have to rest and then I do - walking more slowly, staring out the window, letting others take more responsibility for themselves. It's not like I care less - my body just doesn't allow me to care as much any more. I might surprise others with this change, but that doesn't even bother me. The priority is me and the baby and that's just it.

About your partner: I imagine men are sometimes helpless in this new situation

of being expectant dads. There is nothing they can do, it is all about us women and our bodies. How can they understand us, and how can we explain what's going on with us when this is all so new and overwhelming? I'd say again to give yourself time to deal with this communication issue till a little later - so your partner doesn't understand, that is where he is right now and it would take too much of your energy to make him hear you. Right now the energy you have you can only spend on taking care of yourself, finding ways to destress and find your own balance back. Once you feel a bit better probably you'll have completely fresh ideas flowing from your mind without effort for your conversations with your partner. First things first - that's just the way it is right now.

That is a lovely answer from still learning2016, I was the same in 2 of my pregnancies, very emotional and any little thing could set me off. I always needed tissues as I cried watching most things good or bad. Its completely normal and our bodies just have a lot to deal with. Hope your hubby understands and supports you on this wonderful journey. Wishing you all the very best. In the end it's all worth while. Mum to four lovely beautiful girls here sending you hugs. You are doing great 😊